'Three Rivers,' wear
chest-high waders
CBS drama about transplant doctors is a hard slog
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Oct 2, 2009
As the new season kicks off, Media Life takes a look at the buzz surrounding some of the first-year shows and how they’re expected to perform with previews and reviews.
Name of show
“Three Rivers”
Timeslot
CBS, Sunday 9 p.m.
Plot synopsis
In the tradition of medical dramas from "ER" to "Grey's Anatomy," "Three Rivers" follows a group of gifted but flawed doctors.
The twist is that these doctors specialize in organ transplants, and they deal with the human side of medicine, including the emotions of recipients and donors, as much as the scientific side.
They work in Pittsburgh, home of the titular "Three Rivers."
The team is led by Dr. Andy Yablonski (Alex O'Loughlin), a sarcastic yet good-hearted surgeon. He's assisted by surgical fellow Miranda Foster (Katherine Moennig), womanizing resident David Lee (Daniel Henney) and transplant coordinator Ryan Abbott (Christopher J. Hanke).
Yablonski reports to Sophia Jordan, the hospital's head of surgery and frequent foil. Jordan was played by Julia Ormond originally but replaced by Alfre Woodard after the show received a full-season order.
It's definitely an upgrade. Jordan is the no-nonsense type and often has to pull back her young, overeager charges from getting too emotionally involved, and Woodard is the cast's strongest actor.
Outlook
Odds are that this critically scorned medical drama will be gone by the end of the November sweeps if not before.
The pilot was so bad that just a few weeks before the season began CBS replaced it with what was supposed to be a later episode in the series.
And “Rivers” is airing in a difficult timeslot. In fact, it may be one of the toughest timeslots on broadcast.
“Rivers” faces Fox’s “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” which combined for a big 4.4 average last week among adults 18-49 and yet finished third in the slot.
ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” which has slid but still does very well among female demos, and NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” which draws all the men who aren’t watching Fox’s animation, placed second and first in the timeslot last weekend.
That doesn’t leave many potential viewers for “Rivers.” The network seems to be hoping that O’Loughlin, who starred in the 2007 cult show “Moonlight,” will attract some viewers, but “Moonlight” didn’t have that big a following.
CBS seems to sense that the show is in trouble. It’s never a good sign when a new program is held back from premiere week. That signals that the network knows it has a turkey on its hands and is hoping to roll it out quietly, after the big-buzz shows have already premiered.
CBS has the most stable lineup on broadcast, but the network is usually quick to yank shows that clearly aren’t working, such as “Smith” and “3 Lbs.,” while nurturing creatively promising yet lower-rated shows.
Thus there’s little reason to believe the network will show patience with “Rivers,” especially if lead-out “Cold Case” is hurt by “Rivers’” low ratings. In fact, the network likely has a contingency plan already in place if “Rivers” runs cold.
The buzz
The buzz on this show is just plain bad. Some media people have compared the quality of “Rivers” to “Viva Laughlin,” the 2006 CBS musical that was canceled after just two episodes.
That’s not the sort of comparison that bodes well for long-term survival.
There are two major problems with the show, and one is that it is poorly executed. The pilot episode inspired outright vitriol from some media people who screened it.
The second problem is that “Rivers,” with its plodding plots, does not fit into the flow of CBS’s well-established Sunday night schedule, which has included “60 Minutes,” “The Amazing Race” and “Cold Case” for years.
Those shows share a common thread of adrenalin, as did “The Unit,” the program canceled to make way for “Rivers.” “Rivers” has none.
“Another poorly put together Sunday lineup by CBS,” says one buyer. “’Cold Case’ is being sacrificed for perhaps the worst-looking new show of the season.”
What critics are saying
“‘Three Rivers’ tries to work around the failings of its script through quick cuts and colored gels, but they're a vain attempt to build excitement where none exists. Pittsburgh looks pretty, but the show it's hosting appears dead on arrival, and none of CBS' extreme measures is likely to change that fate. Sometimes, it really is kinder just to pull the plug.” –
Robert Bianco, USA Today
“Hey kids - sign your organ donor cards! There. I have now obviated the need for this show.” –
Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times
“Plots seem to have been harvested from bits and pieces of 'House,' 'ER' and just about every medical drama you've ever seen, though the dialogue's unlikely to be claimed by any of them.” –
Ellen Gray, Philadelphia Daily News
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